STANFORD, Calif. -
Stanford junior Kori Carter, the NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles, was named Women's Track Athlete of the Year by the Pac-12 Conference on Thursday.

Carter was among eight individuals honored by the conference for men's and women's track and field achievements, as selected by Pac-12 coaches. Carter became the first Stanford athlete to win the Women's Track Athlete of the Year award since sprinter Chryste Gaines in 1992.

Carter has been the nation's breakthrough star in collegiate track and field. Despite never having reached an NCAA final before, she crushed the collegiate in-season record in the 400 hurdles (that is, against collegiate-only competition) with a meet-record time of 53.21. A day later, Carter was runner-up in the 100 hurdles. No Stanford women's hurdler has placed so highly in either event at the NCAA's.

This year alone, Carter has improved upon her personal record by 3.49 seconds in the 400 hurdles and 0.23 in the 100 hurdles. Along the way, she won the Pac-12 title in both events, including a repeat in the 100 hurdles.

Three times this year, Carter has run a world-leading time in the 400 hurdles beginning with a stunning school-record 54.71 in winning the Jim Click Shootout in Tucson over Arizona's Georganne Moline, a 2012 Olympic finalist. It became only the first of five Carter victories in as many matchups this season, culminating in their 1-2 finish at the NCAA's, with both setting personal records and Carter again running the fastest time in the world this year.

Carter recently was named USTFCCCA West Regional Women's Track Athlete of the Year and is on the watch list for The Bowerman, collegiate track and field's highest honor. The Bowerman women's semifinalists will be announced June 18 and the finalists on July 11. The winner will be announced Dec. 18.

Carter, a nine-time All-America, next competes in the USATF Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, where she will concentrate on the 400 hurdles. Carter continues to have the fastest time in the world this year and is No. 8 in the world in the 100 hurdles (12.76).

The complete list of Pac-12 track and field award winners:

Women's Track Athlete of the Year:Kori Carter (Stanford) Women's Field Athlete of the Year: Brigetta Barrett (Arizona)Women's Newcomer of the Year: Jenna Prandini (Oregon)Women's Coach of the Year: Robert Johnson (Oregon)Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Bryshon Nellum (USC)Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Jordan Clarke (Arizona State)Men's Newcomer of the Year: Chris Williams (Washington)Men's Coach of the Year: Robert Johnson (Oregon)